Monday, April 17, 2017

Cat Got Your Cash by Julie Chase - #review #giveaway

Lacy Marie Crocker’s whimsical pet couture has gained a following in New Orleans’s cozy Garden District, and word of mouth has traveled all the way to her favorite fashion designer, Annie Lane. Lacy’s thrilled when Annie schedules a private session at her home to discuss a companion line for her evening wear, but when Lacy arrives for the appointment, she enters the kitchen to two mewling Siamese cats–and one very dead Annie.

Lacy takes the kittens home to care for them until they can be properly claimed by Annie’s family or friends, but after a busy day of work, she returns home to find them missing. And when Lacy learns the cats are set to inherit Annie’s fortune, she begins to wonder if the killer was after the kittens all along. Now Lacy will stop at nothing to save the Siamese and find justice for Annie–if the killer doesn’t sink his claws into her first.

Luckily, Lacy has the help of handsome NOLA PD homicide detective Jack Oliver to help her catch the cat-napper before its too late in Cat Got Your Cash, the endearing second Kitty Couture mystery from Julie Chase.

My last actual trip to New Orleans was *ahem* some years ago, but I have always wanted to go back. Cat Got Your Cash by Julie Chase is a superb visit to the heart of the Big Easy. You get the French Quarter and the Garden District, the distinctive food and music, as well as the magic and endurance of the city and its people.

Lacy, and her business designing clothing for a family's furry members, have been struggling. But things are looking up for Lacy, who is on her way to a meeting with one of her designer heroines for a possible co-operative venture. That particular hope is short-lived, however, as she arrives to the appointment to find her idol won't be releasing any more collections ... ever.

Rather than let Annie's (her idol's) Siamese kittens be taken into the 'system' by a less-than-professional-looking animal control officer, Lacy begs to take them home with her. Surely her own cat will make room for two little ones ... so long as they don't try to get on her personal conveyance and "Furry Godmother" custodial staff member ... Spot, the circular robotic vacuum cleaner.

The little additions are reacting to the loss of their human mama, their home, and finding out the local feline considers them 'tied for second place', when Lacy finds out that they each come with a $5K (per month no less) expense account! Now Lacy would have taken foster care of the critters regardless, but $10K a month could be a lure to many who don't really take the welfare of animals to heart.

I appreciated Lacy's desire to stand on her own two feet in her life and business, without falling back on her family's social position and financial resources. Even more endearing was the fact that when push came to shove, her mother and father were firmly in her corner.

And in the icing-on-the-cake category, Lacy had not one, but two devilishly handsome (and rich!) men who seem to have been caught by her charms. There's the old-money friend of the family (who's just moved in next-door to her parents), and the detective on Annie's murder case (who inherited his grandfather's business and fortune. Neither one of them care much for the other (although they seem to keep popping up in the same places!), but they are absolutely together on the side of Lacy being safe. One even tattles to the other when Lacy is planning on doing something to discover the culprits that would probably put her in danger.

I cannot wait to see how that situation (Lacy's love life) progresses. But for now, I'm going to sit on the veranda with my mint julep, my fan, and come down from the pulse-pounding chase at the end of Cat Got Your Cash. What a great way to start the warmer weather!

Julie Chase is a mystery-loving pet enthusiast who hopes to make readers smile. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three spunky children. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and Sisters in Crime (SinC). She is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency.

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